Shadows of the Heart
by crystalrose4
Summary: Everybody loves Jack Sparrow. Everybody, that is, except Ana Marie, who's taken great pride in knowing that she can look Jack in the eye without turning into a puddle. But as the Interceptor sails farther and farther away, Ana Marie has her doubts.
1. Default Chapter

Shadows of the Heart  
  
Chapter One: Goodbyes and New Beginnings  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Pirates of the Caribbean  
  
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"Jack!" Ana Marie marched up to the helm, irritation etched in her face. "When do I get me ship? You promised!"  
  
Jack grinned roguishly at her. "Aye, I did. And so ye shall."  
  
"When?" Ana Marie almost whined with impatience.  
  
"When we..." Jack rolled his eyes up to the clouds, a thoughtful expression on his face. Ana Marie grimaced. He had no idea what excuse to make up. Jack finally gave up and looked down, and saw Ana Marie's frown. He wasn't very convincing. Jack sighed. "Well we can' go back to Port Royale NOW, any likes. In case yer fogettin', they be wantin' ta hang me."  
  
Ana Marie let out a noise that was in between a growl and a sigh. "Jack, it's been five months! They all but fergot you!"  
  
"Now, luv, can' be too sure 'bout that."  
  
Ana Marie's gaze darkened and her voice grew dangerously soft. "I want me ship." She said this slowly, letting every word sink in. If that daft man didn't turn this ship to London, she'd make plans to herself. How about an "expired" bottle of rum? Or perhaps a well-placed sword as he slept? Oh, the possibilities. Ana Marie barely concealed a smirk.  
  
Jack sighed in defeat. "A'righ', lass. After we finish our business in Tortunga, we set fer Port Royale."  
  
Ana Marie brightened; relieved she was finally getting her way. "Thank ye, Jack."  
  
She left him to himself then, giddy with the expectations of a new boat and crew, going wherever she wanted, being her own captain...  
  
She'd sigh in bliss if it weren't for all the other pirates around her.  
  
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It took another day and a half to arrive in Tortunga. They would be staying there for two nights before heading out. Ana Marie couldn't help but gripe as the days inched by slower than ever. In another week or so, she'd be on her own. That is, on her own if she didn't find a new crew. But it'd be fine. She'd been a captain before, now all she needed to do was find her old shipmates; and hope they didn't join a different crew in her (and the ship's) absence.  
  
In another two hours or so, she had a decent size of her crew lined up and awaiting her orders.  
  
"Aye, Jack's gonna 'ave kittens, he is." She mumbled as she led the way to the Black Pearl.  
  
Gibbs had been standing guard that night. "Jack in?" Ana Marie asked.  
  
"Nope. Still in the pub, I 'magine."  
  
"I see." Scumbag, that captain. A different woman every night, she suspected.  
  
Gibbs saw Ana Marie's grimace and smiled slyly. He just couldn't help but bait the woman. "Ah, lass, you ain't gettin' jealous fer ol' Jack, now are ya?" He chuckled.  
  
Ana Marie rolled her eyes. "You know me better, Gibbs. I ain't got no taste fer a man wit no morals."  
  
"Aw, Jack's got morals good an' plenty!" Gibbs guffawed.  
  
"Yeh, tell that to tha ladies." Ana Marie muttered as she started for her cabin.  
  
"Yer jes sayin' tha' cause ye are one!" Gibbs called after her.  
  
"An' don' yer ferget it!" The door slammed shut behind her right as she remembered her crew still on deck. Probably just standing there stupidly, she thought. Ah well, let them.  
  
Ana Marie had just gotten to a comfortable position on her bunk when she heard a familiar voice bellow her name. She sighed disgustedly as she clambered back up to the deck. When Jack Sparrow saw the blurred figure arrive, he pointed his finger angrily at the foreign crew behind him.  
  
"Who're they?" he slurred.  
  
Ana Marie placed her hands on her hips. "They're me new crew, Jack. You really 'spect me to man tha' ship by me lonesome?"  
  
Jack paused and considered this, and Ana Marie knew she had won. And now for the finishing touch. "Sides, the sooner we git to Port Royale, the sooner we be outta yer hair."  
  
"A' right, a'right." Jack muttered, waving his bottle of rum. "Jes keep 'em outta the way."  
  
"Aye!"  
  
Jack swaggered over to his cabin, and Ana Marie turned to the crew. "Well, you 'eard 'im! Stay outta the way, an' stay put!" Numerous 'aye captains' resounded as they scattered to find a nook to sleep in. "Dun worry, mates! Jes a couple more nights, an' we be 'avin' our own ship, an' you yer own bunks!"  
  
And no more Jack. Ana Marie didn't know why she was so urgent to get away from him. Only that she was, and that was that.  
  
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Port Royale had never looked so welcoming. Well, at least to her, and the Interceptor's newest crew. But poor Jack, eyes darting every which way. Ana Marie was in a good mood, so she decided to comfort him.  
  
"Come now, Jack." She sang sweetly as she stood beside him. "Ye can' possibly believe that Norrington fellow kin REALLY catch the bes' bloody pirate that ever was, now do ya?"  
  
Jack grinned gold at her. " 'M flattered ye think that of me, but the fact is, they 'ave." His gaze darkened almost comically. "Twice."  
  
"An' ye got away, too."  
  
"They still caugh' me"  
  
Ana Marie looked over the port. "Well, look. Thar it is, so jes drop me an' me crew off, an' ye kin be outta here, ne'er to see this place agin, so long's ye choose."  
  
As Jack steered her closer to the lightly guarded Interceptor, a feeling of unease fluttered in Ana Marie's chest. This was it. She could still turn back, change her mind. Ana Marie swallowed, letting her determination resurface. She could do this. HAD to do this.  
  
Once close enough to the ship to board, Ana Marie gave her men the order to board and conquer. As she was about to swing over herself, a hand clamped over her arm.  
  
Ana Marie spun around to see Jack, his face no longer holding his charmingly goofy smirk.  
  
"Are ye sure ye wan' to do this, Ana? Mutiny is a big step."  
  
Mutiny? Ana Marie had to bite down a laugh. It would be rude, with him looking so serious.  
  
"Jack, I'm not mutinying (A/N: Is that a word?), jes leaving." She couldn't help but smile, though.  
  
"Mehbe we 'ave different definitions."  
  
Ana Marie could have sworn she caught grief in his eyes. Now she was confused. "Wha'd ye care?" she asked, half softly and half in irritation. "I'm jes a woman to ye, ain't I?"  
  
Jack shook his head, the sadness and seriousness in his eyes growing stronger. "Nah, luv. You're me mate." He smirked. "An' I'll be missin' ye."  
  
Ana Marie frowned, more confused than ever. "Aye." She murmured. "I'll be missin' ye too."  
  
Now the roguish smirk was back. "Now, 'ow bout a lil g'bye kiss fer ol' Jack?"  
  
The man was impossible!  
  
"Or 'ow 'bout I drown ye fer ol' times sake?" Ana Marie retorted, and Jack burst out laughing. "G' bye, Jack Sparrow."  
  
Jack quit laughing and bade his farewell before Ana Marie swung her was over to the Interceptor to join the rest of her crew.  
  
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I'm note sure if Ana Marie actually WAS a captain (I know the boat Jack "borrowed" was pretty small), but I decided to make her one anyways. It wouldn't be too fun if she only used the boat to fish in. ^-^  
  
Anyways, I hope it was different than the other stories. I don't think I've seen another J/A. I know she's not a well-known character, but I don't like doing OC romances. They usually turn out Mary Sue. Anyways, give me lots of reviews! I know you can do it, cause some stories I've seen got two hundred per chapter. Buttons! Click! Type! :p  
  
Quotes (that I am disclaiming):  
  
"Are you sure you want to do this? Mutiny is a big step." - Guybrush Threepwood, Curse of Monkey Island 3 


	2. Closer When He's Gone

Shadows Of The Heart  
  
Chapter Two: Closer When He's Gone  
  
Disclaimer: Do not own PotC.  
  
** A/N: I know a lot of you want to see some Jack- oriented romance, but love doesn't happen in a day. Ok, well maybe it does sometimes, but I don't believe in love at first sight. Especially for Ana Marie. I want to make this look like it kind of evolved, but I will definitely give you a crumb this chapter. ^ - ~ **  
  
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What had she been thinking?  
  
Her first month as captain had been a complete disaster! Could she possibly be losing her touch? Had she spent so long under the orders of a captain that she had forgotten how to be a captain herself? No, no, it wasn't that. She just didn't enjoy it anymore.  
  
Ana Marie slumped in a chair in her cabin and placed her face in her hands, elbows resting on a small table in front of her. She did have more fun under the orders of Jack, and as much as she hated to admit it, she really was starting to miss him.  
  
The longer she went without seeing him, the more she thought about him. And thinking about him led to... feelings... that she didn't really want to have. She didn't love him. Of course she didn't love him! No one but a fool would fall in love with Captain Jack Sparrow. But she'd be lying to herself if she didn't at least admit that she was attracted to him.  
  
"Well that's normal, isn't it? Fer a woman te be attracted te an 'andsome man." She murmured to herself.  
  
Yes. Of course. That's all it was. A silly infatuation that would end in time. Just not soon enough.  
  
She really shouldn't worry. In fact, perhaps she would find a man to take her mind off Jack. Permanently.  
  
She stood up with concrete resolve, almost sending her chair backwards. Rolling the sleeves of her white shirt up to her elbows, she strode across the room and out onto the moonlit deck.  
  
"All hands on deck!" She ordered, waiting patiently as the banging around below her grew louder and her crew eventually surrounded her. "Set the sails! We head fer Tortuga!"  
  
She marched up to the helm and took hold, whipping out her compass and spinning the wheel to the right direction.  
  
Her crew was slow and reluctant to get started, setting sail while only half awake. Her first mate, a tall brunette only a couple of years younger than her, yawned as he joined her beside the helm.  
  
"Captain, can' this wait till mornin'?"  
  
"No!"  
  
He almost jumped, startled at her shout. "A- an emergency, then?"  
  
Ana Marie looked at the young man, Nathaniel, who had been her first mate before for three years. Three years, and he still called her 'captain'. She had never thought about it before, so it had never bothered her. But after her adventures with Jack, it did. The crew of the 'Black Pearl' never called Jack 'captain'. Well, perhaps they did the first few days, but it quickly ended. They were so comfortable that they didn't have to.  
  
They were like family.  
  
"Yeh, Nat, sumthin' like tha'."  
  
Sure, she could get romantically involved with one of her crew, but... she just didn't feel any sort of attraction towards any of them.  
  
But in Tortuga, there certainly had to be SOMEONE she was attracted to. He'd probably be another drunkard-dirty, and smelly, and untrustworthy, but... Okay, she just wouldn't think about what he might be like. She wouldn't forgive herself if she backed down and spent the rest of her days in her cabin.  
  
So Tortuga it was.  
  
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Now the best place to look for a boyfriend is definitely NOT a bar, but if you're a pirate, it's really the only one.  
  
Ana Marie looked around the filthy room anxiously. As the only daughter in a family full of boys, she had no idea how to go about this "courting". Sure, she knew what men liked (many thanks to her brothers), but... how do you get one to court, or even notice, you? Do pirates court? How does one "flirt"?  
  
Ana Marie walked over to the bar and slumped into a stool, her chin resting in her palm. What to do? Maybe if she just sat here... yeah, like some sap was just going to walk up and start a conversation.  
  
"Is this seat taken?" (**A/N: The oldest line in the book started here! ;p **) Caught completely off-guard, Ana Marie turned to see the handsome blond pirate standing beside her, indicating the stool right next to hers. She glanced around quickly to make sure he was really talking to her, and then shook her head, smiling.  
  
"Nah, mate. 'Ave a seat."  
  
He smiled at her seductively as he took a seat. Still looking at her, he motioned to the bartender.  
  
"Two drinks."  
  
'Well that was easy.' Ana Marie thought. 'Now what?'  
  
"So wha' do ye call yerself?" He asked.  
  
Ana Marie relaxed a little, deciding to let this man do all the talking, who seemed to at least know what he was doing.  
  
"Ana Marie. An' ye?"  
  
"Ana Marie." The man repeated. "What a pretty name." He rubbed his clean- shaven chin. "Name's jackal-eyed John. But tha's jes wha' me crew calls me. Ye can call me John."  
  
"John i' is, then." The rum came, and Ana Marie took a large gulp to loosen her nerves. Vaguely she tried to remember why she was doing this in the first place.  
  
"Ye a captain, huh?" She asked as her mug came down. She noticed he hadn't touched any of his rum yet.  
  
"Aye. Of a beaut o' a ship. Call 'er de 'Gold Seeker.' What 'bout ye? Ye go' a ship o' ye own?"  
  
"Aye, on'y recently, tho. De 'Interceptor'. Near fas' eno' te catch de 'Black Pearl'.  
  
"De 'Black Pearl'?" John grinned. "I 'eard tha' ship's go' a crew o' zombies."  
  
"Aye, it did. Bu' ol' Jack now, 'e an' 'is young friend, Will Turner, dey recaptured de "Black Pearl' an' defeated captin Barbossa."  
  
John chuckled. "Ye say I' lahke ye was der."  
  
"Ah was." And with that Ana Marie set off on the tale Jack liked to call 'The Curse of the Black Pearl', and before she knew it, found herself outside with the man she had just met. They were walking down an alley, laughing at one of captain Jack's retold antics, when suddenly their path was blocked by a dark figure.  
  
John and Ana Marie both stopped laughing as they saw the man. Ana Marie looked around, only to find more figures coming out of the shadows to surround them.  
  
John chuckled. "Sorry, luv. Ahm afraid this is whar our date ends." He said as he joined the other men's side.  
  
"Wha--?" Ana Marie cried out as two men grabbed her from behind. John started for her, but she swung her foot up hard, catching him in the face. He grabbed his nose as he stumbled back, and Ana Marie hooked her right foot around one of her captor's ankles, trapping him. With her now free arm, she punched her other captor. Wiggling out of his grasp, she backed into a corner and surveyed her odds. Five to one. She fumbled as she pulled her knife out of its sheath, but by the time she had it ready, one of the men knocked it out of her hands and struck her across her jaw. She flew sideways, tumbling over crates and barrels. Blinking the dots from her eyes, she picked herself out of the rubble and searched for her knife.  
  
Ana Marie dodged another punch, and grabbed the guy's arms as it swung out. She twisted, and flipped him over her back, and then gave a swift kick to his temple once he hit the ground. Busy doing this, Ana Marie didn't see the guy behind her come up to kick her in the back. She slammed into the opposing wall, and another guy used her knife to stab at her. She quickly rolled away from it, and caught the blade in her shoulder. Ana Marie cried out in anguish, and kicked the offender in his genitals, who fell to the ground in pain.  
  
With her back against the wall, she looked for the last three. Seeing nobody else in the alley, Ana Marie assumed they had left. She turned the corner, only to be close-lined by one of the waiting men.  
  
From the ground, Ana Marie barely heard John in her almost unconscious state.  
  
"Pick her up."  
  
Ana Marie felt herself being dragged up by both arms. The vision of the man in front of her was hazy.  
  
"Ye know, ye women are really more trouble tha' yer werth." She heard the click of the hammer of a gun being pulled back. "On'y good fer one ting."  
  
'This is the end.' Ana Marie thought. 'This is the worst way to die.'  
  
"Three 'gainst one? Tha's no' very fair." Ana Marie's heart sped up as she heard the familiar slur. " 'specially 'gainst a lady."  
  
John turned around to meet Jack's fist, and he fell instantly. The two men dropped Ana Marie to charge Jack, who quickly stepped to the side and tripped both of them. He kicked a crate at the bottom of a stacked pile, so that it went spiraling down the alley and the crates piled on top toppled over the trio of pirates, burying them.  
  
"Well." Jack exclaimed as he brushed imaginary dust from his hands. "Dey won' be getting up fer awhile."  
  
Ana Marie smiled, and before she could control her impulse, grabbed the sides of Jack's face and drew him in for a quick, fierce kiss.  
  
Realizing what she had just done, she drew her hand back and struck him across the face. Jack stumbled back, his hand nursing the place where she slapped him.  
  
"OW! Wha' was tha' fer?"  
  
"Ye were late!" She lied. Jack laughed, and then hooked an arm around her shoulder.  
  
"Es good te see ye too!" Jack steered her out of the alley and towards the port. " 'Ow 'bout a game o' cards on me ship. Te celebrate a meetin' o' ol' friends."  
  
Ana Marie rolled her eyes. "It's 'mazing te me, Jack, 'ow ye kin jes come outta a fight, an' act lahke i' was nothin'."  
  
"We kin celebrate tha' too!"  
  
"Aye." She sighed. "Ye'd celebrate anything, so long as there's rum."  
  
"Well o' course." Jack grinned. "So 'ow 'bout it? Rum an' cards."  
  
"Aye, Jack. Why not?"  
  
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Yay! Fight scene! Yeah, you just knew he was going to pop in right at the opportune moment. Okay, any questions, just ask.  
  
And if your wondering about the kiss, it was more of a thing friends do, like a thank-ye-fer-savin-me thing. That's why there was no tongue, and Jack didn't comment about it.  
  
**Quotes**:  
  
"Ow! What was that for?"  
  
"You were late!"  
  
-- John Wayne (Jackie Chan), and Lynn (don't know her name, but she was in Crouching Tiger); from Shanghai Knights.  
  
**Next chapter**:  
  
What exactly goes on during a game of cards between drunken pirates? More pirate fun with the oh-so-quotable Jack, that's what! 


End file.
